December 13 ,2009 (the real one)

Dear Family and Friends,

Another week and Christmas is close! We had all four missionaries
serving in the Calliaqua branch speak in Sacrament meeting today. It
was a great meeting and the spirit was very strong. They all spoke
about the mission of the Savior and about his birth, all very
different and all very good.

We have had an exciting week with these young Elders this past week.
Last Monday, all the elders were in the red Toyota when Elder Damm,
who was driving, rear ended another car. They had been doing their
usual thing for Monday morning and had broken the basketball hoop at
the Kingstown church and were headed to Calliaqua to use another
basketball court. Not a fun day for anyone. Luckily accidents
usually do not involve injuries as it is hard to get a lot of speed
with all the curves and hills etc. An accident report was required
and all that goes with it and once an Elder has had an accident he can
no longer drive. Elder Damm was scheduled to be a zone leader in
Trinidad for the transfer that was to occur on Wednesday so
assignments had to be rearranged. There were 4 Elders scheduled to
leave St. Vincent and 4 new ones coming in on Wednesday. Besides the
transfers, a Zone Council was to be held on Thursday and Friday with
all the new zone leaders attending from throughout the mission. We
had 3 Elders from here who flew in the evening on Wednesday and Elder
Damm was one of them. As they were going through immigration at the
Trinidad airport, Elder Damm was unfortunate enough to get an agent
who would not let him through even though his papers were the same as
Elder Huntsman's had been who flew into Trinidad that morning. Elder
Myers from the mission office and Bishop Ailleen could not talk this
agent out of the trouble he wanted to cause. So, Elder Damm was taken
to a hotel with an armed guard to spend the night. To satisfy
immigration requirements, whenever we fly we all have an open ended
ticket which means that it shows a return flight somewhere (indicating
that we are not there to stay) and then that ticket is cancelled
later. Elder Damm's open end was to JFK in New York City. They put
him on a plane and off he went to New York Thursday morning. The
mission office went right to work and he flew from New York to Miami
and then on to the Dominican Republic that day. A branch of the MTC
is there and he spent the night with new Elders who will be serving
here in the Caribbean. On Friday, he flew to Puerto Rico and then on
to St. Vincent. What an adventure and what an unbelievable set of
circumstances. So, he is now safe here in St. Vincent until President
Gamiette decides where he will serve. He no longer has the option of
Trinidad or Guyana as he has been red-stamped in both countries.
Elder Wheeler and I have been sighing from relief that we were not
serving in the mission office for this one.

Elder Damm 's armed guard on Wednesday night was a very nice man and
Elder Damm and others from the Church made an impression that planted
seeds. It would great fun to know what happens with this man and his
family. Everything happens for a reason and difficult times often
result in sweet fruit.

The Kingstown branch has an activity every other Friday night and the
youth of the branch were responsible for this one. They are so
talented; they sang, danced and recited poetry and ended with a
devotional which was very well done. It is obvious that Seminary is
making a difference here already. The Area Authorities are
emphasizing the importance of Seminary and Institute in the growth and
stability of the Church here. Reading the Book of Mormon is crucial
to all of us if we want to have our testimonies grow and hold on to
the Iron Rod which will bring us happiness and eternal life.

All nine Elders will be here later for birthday cake and ice cream
(Elder Wheeler's birthday). We will be arranging eleven flights to
St. Lucia in the morning for the Island zone conference on Wednesday
and Thursday this week. There is never a dull minute.

We love you all and hope that all is well with you all as you prepare
for Christmas! We wish you all a joyful Christmas season with your
families.

Much love,
Elder and Sister Wheeler